Friday, July 24, 2009

(500) Pairs of Summer

I said I would post occasionally, and a recent visit to a shoe store in Southampton with my wife offered up this picture sent in by one of their loyal customers. You can read it as a celebration of summer or as evidence of excessive consumption, but either way it has the charm and vitality of much of vernacular photography - and gives quite a taste of summer in this rain-sodden time. (Taken on my iPhone, you'll need to click on the picture to get the full effect.)

One of the funniest photo albums I ever saw was a collection of snapshots put together by the staff of Sotheby's in London where people had sent in snaps of the object they wanted to sell. But like "Antiques Roadshow - Home Edition" these real-life snaps were things like a drunken family gathering and in the background was the intended consignment - a vase on the mantelpiece above Aunt Edna's head. This was years ago, but if I can ever track it down I'll be sure to post the highlights.

"If only all blogs were as life-affirming and tender-hearted as that of gallerist James Danziger. Whether his focus falls on the work of an individual artist or a particular theme, The Year in Pictures is compulsive reading."